# Selection and grouping

Three patterns for selecting more than one object: marquee select for a freeform set, parent attachments for hierarchical groups, and the [Scene Outliner](/build/scene-outliner.md) for surgical multi-select. Each one is the right answer in a different situation.

![Build mode with multiple objects selected, their bounding outlines lit, the contextual menu showing group-level actions](/files/nLfMotR3QYH4xS5hEzBE)

## What it does

A scene with one object is rare. Most real work happens on groups: a coffee-table setup with chairs around it, the props on a desk, the soldiers on a ship's deck. Picking each one separately and applying the same transform every time wastes minutes per session. The selection patterns below let you treat groups as one.

## Marquee select

Use marquee for freeform multi-selection that doesn't need to persist across sessions.

1. Click the **marquee** icon in the toolbar (single-point cursor with a dashed rectangle).
2. Drag a selection box across the viewport. Anything fully or partially inside the box becomes selected.
3. Apply a transform, swap, color change, or save-as-set to the entire selection.

## Parent attachments

Drag one object onto another in the [Scene Outliner](/build/scene-outliner.md) to parent it. The child inherits the parent's position, rotation, and scale – move the parent and the child comes along.

Use parent attachments when:

* You're putting characters on a moving vehicle and want them to stay aboard.
* You're attaching props to a hand or a body part.
* You're building a rig where the secondary parts should always follow the primary.

The webinar pirate-scene walkthrough uses parent attachments heavily: each pirate is parented to the gallion, each soldier to the frigate. Move the boat, the crew comes with it.

To unparent: drag the child out to the root level in the Scene Outliner, or right-click the row and pick **Detach**.

## Selecting from the Scene Outliner

When you need to pick a specific group of objects by name (everything called "tree" but not "fern", or every character but not their props), the [Scene Outliner](/build/scene-outliner.md) is the right tool. Hold `Shift` and click row-by-row, or `Shift+click` from row A to row B for contiguous selections. The viewport selection updates live.

## Group actions

Once a multi-selection is active, the contextual menu shows only the actions that work on the whole group:

| Action                | Behavior on a group                                                                            |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Move / rotate / scale | Applies to every object's transform                                                            |
| Color                 | Applies to every object whose material accepts color                                           |
| Save as set           | Groups them into a reusable set, keeping their relative positions. See [Sets](/build/sets.md). |
| Lock                  | Locks every object in the selection                                                            |
| Delete                | Deletes every object in the selection                                                          |

Swap is not a group action – it operates on one object at a time. To swap multiple objects to the same alternative, do it one at a time.

## Limits and known issues

* **Marquee doesn't include hidden objects.** If something is hidden via the Scene Outliner's eye toggle, the marquee skips it.
* **Locked objects can't be marqueed.** Lock blocks selection from any pathway, including the marquee box.
* **Parent-child scale interactions.** If a parent's scale is non-uniform, child positions can drift unexpectedly. Use uniform scales on parents wherever you can.

## Related

* [Working with objects](/build/working-with-objects.md)
* [Scene Outliner](/build/scene-outliner.md)
* [Sets](/build/sets.md)
* [Transform](/build/transform.md)


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